


Duty Before Age

by t0talcha0s



Category: One Piece
Genre: Aging, Character Study, Gen, Introspection, Other, There are lots of mentioned characters I only put the ones that have paragraphs dedicated to them, a bit of humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-22
Updated: 2015-12-22
Packaged: 2018-05-08 07:40:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5489123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/t0talcha0s/pseuds/t0talcha0s
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Smoker would insist he is not old, and even if he were his sense of justice came before any ailments of aging.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Duty Before Age

Smoker the White Hunter has creases on his forehead and joints that ache too early in the morning, to put it bluntly, he's getting old. His semi-permanent scowl has etched permanent lines into the corners of his mouth and if he weren't made of smoke himself the amount he's breathed in would surely have turned his lungs black by now. He knows he's gotten old, he's seen it in Tashigi's gaze whenever he grabs his jitte and jumps a bit too enthusiastically into battle, he's seen it in the way these damn grand line kids look at him. These kids are too young and too dangerous for their own good. Portagus, Strawhat, Trafalgar, the great scourge of the seas those damn D children. Smoker would leave them all to rot if he wasn't the only sane Marine these days, some of these admiral's decisions give justice a bad name. 

Smoker had dealt up close and personal with the mess that was Portagus D. Ace, son of two Ds Rouge and Roger and if that isn't one fucked up family Smoker doesn't know what is. The brat was feisty and rude, flaunting Edward Newgate's insignia on his back like he was more then proud to have another pirate marking his body and filling his spirit. The worst part was he so often ran into him, where there's smoke there's fire and it would seem the same with the two logias. His death just doesn't sit right with Smoker, he prefers not to think about it. 

Strawhat Luffy was what Smoker would label a 'certifiable mess'; son of Dragon and grandson of Garp, as if that bloodline wasn't messy enough, brother of Ace, and proud of it, not to mention his business with the damn Red Haired Shanks himself. Worse was the rubber shit acted like as much a mess as his history should make him, bounding into battle and proving too damn admirable and righteous to catch. It itched Smoker's skin each day that he would have anything to thank that sorry excuse for a captain for. 

And Trafalgar D. Water Law, since Smoker was on the subject of messes, he would definitely consider 'mess' and 'Trafalgar' to be synonymous. Sure the kid helped him kill that bastard, marine impersonator Vergo, but that didn't make him any less rash, or in any less of a tight spot for getting mixed up with Donquixote (another name that made Smoker's blood boil) in the first place. Trafalgar Law could be considered a damn fool and an idiot in Smoker's mind and it would take a lot to make that change. 

Those three certainly weren't alone, as Smoker knew. Too many damn foolish kids trying to take the world by storm, the "supernovas" and what have you, all the way from A: Apu to X: X-drake and that was only one part of the problem, or more aptly _his_ problems these days. 

"You're thinking too hard." Tashigi says, strolling by the open door to his office with paperwork for the new recruits burdening her arms, she flashes him a quick smile. "I'm just passing through so I won't push it, but it was too obvious." She looks smug, it's a good look on her, she's forgotten her glasses again though, Smoker gives a displeased grunt in return and she continues on her way.

She's gotten old too, he could be persuaded to believe. What a word "old". When he thought of old he thought of gray hair and a sour demeanor and aching joints- he quickly abandoned that train of thought. When he thought of old he thought of Garp, or Tsuru, or Whitebeard, old beyond their many, many, many years and with experiences and attitude to prove it all. Smoker wasn't ready to join them, he didn't command the same respect from his opponents, at least not in the same way. He dealt with fools who could be his children, not who could be (or in some cases _were_ ) their grandchildren, or in Newgate's case great-grandchildren (or is it 'sons'). 

Smoker got up from his chair, hearing it creak with age, taking a deep inhale around the cigars in his mouth he stepped out his open door and onto the deck of his ship. It was busy, never wasn't, people bustling about and setting things right, per his specified order. He flicked the finished cigar butts over his shoulder, to be the sea or someone else's problem. He grimaced, walking past a few soldiers, getting a few "hello smo-yan"s and "good morning"s. He doesn't bother scolding them on their lack of formality. Instead he breathes deeply, picks two new cigars out of his jacket, lights them and let's himself fray a little. Something about conjoining himself with the smoke from his cigars relaxes his nerves. 

The ocean shimmers in the sunlight, glinting reflections of the wispy, barely-there clouds. The salt in the air puts Smoker on edge, but it's something he's gotten used to, what with wielding a sea-stone tipped jitte and all. The horizon is clear of ships, their island destination but a dot on the fabric of blue sky and blue ocean. The ship creaks as it rocks in the waves, a creaking Smoker's joints could never hope to emulate, and it puts him at ease. Smoker will admit he's certainly not young, but as he turns sharply on his heel, stirred into action by the familiar heartbeat of the ocean around him, and a need to correct one cadet's sloppy form on the rigging, he knows that his age sure as day isn't going to stop him from enacting some damn justice on these chaotic waves.

**Author's Note:**

> I really need to stop writing character studies and write something with legitimate plot. 
> 
> Gimme plot ideas @barefootcosplayer on tumblr.


End file.
